Chapter 256: Truth or Dare (One)
Chapter 256: Truth or Dare (One)
The full moon showered the Mortal Realm with its silvery light that reflected off the snow that was covering every inch of the ground and the roofs of the buildings. As Xiang Ling stepped into the open courtyard of the inner section, she noticed the changes that had taken place during her absence.
"What is going on? Who did this?"
Her voice was filled with excitement as she rushed toward the swing that was built next to peach blossom tree. It was big enough for three-four people to sit together and its rope was covered with ivy.
She sat down on the swing and took a leap, giggling when the cold air of the winter night hit her face. She noticed how her husbands were silently observing her with smiles decorating their lips.
Once she got a taste of the swing, she rushed toward the huge pavilion that was standing on the other side of the open courtyard. Instead of usual stone tables that were always put under these pavilions, this particular one had a thick mattress covering the floor with dozens of pillows and white colored curtains surrounding it to hide the inside of the pavilion.
"This is so good. So beautiful and warm." Xiang Ling was almost jumping up and down as she took off her shoes and entered the pavilion, throwing herself on the mattress and rolling around in the pillows.
Her husbands followed after her and took their seats around her. It was not until she noticed the wine jars in Zhe Yuan’s hands did she got an idea of their plan and moved to a sitting position.
"Yejin wanted a swing in her courtyard. So, we decided to get one here as well. This pavilion was Li Xian’s idea. We are happy to know that you are liking them." Dao Ming answered her questions as he helped Zhe Yuan in pouring the wine into cups and passing them to everyone.
"These are so good. Thank you so much." Xiang Ling was grateful to the men and she made sure to let them know.
"Should we play that game again?" Zhe Yuan proposed when he handed her the cup of wine. Xiang Ling immediately recalled the night when she played the game of ’Never have I ever’ with her husbands. She had to clear her throat to keep herself from feeling shy at the recollection of the memories of that night.
Everyone was silent for a while before she suddenly think of a dangerous idea and spoke, "I know another fun game. How about we play that one?"
All six pairs of eyes turned toward her, each one looking at her with curiosity. "What kind of game this one is?" Wei Guang was the one to ask.
Xiang Ling took in a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She knew perfectly well that she was digging a hole for herself by suggesting this particular game, but she believed that there was nothing for her to worry about. Feeling confident, she started explaining the game.
"This one is called Truth or Dare. This is how it’s played - one of us will choose anyone among us and will ask that person to choose between truth or dare. If truth is chosen, then that person has to answer the asked question truthfully, no matter what. If that person fails to answer, he/she will need to drink. On the other hand, if dare is chosen, that person will have to complete whatever dare he/she will be given. If failed, then that person will need to remove one item from their body."
"Remove items from our bodies? Like what?" Li Xian asked as he was confused about this particular part of the rules.
"Like your hairpins, your wallet, shoes, or clothes." Xiang Ling answered while feeling happy just thinking about the amount of jewelry she was wearing at the moment.
"Even clothes? What if someone ended up naked?" Zhe Yuan questioned to which, Xiang Ling just shrugged her shoulders and responded - "Well... that’s the fun part of the game."
She gave the men a couple of minutes to make their decision before she asked, "So, are you all ready to play this game?" He eyes scanned the group and she found all of them nodding their heads in approval.
"Great! Then I’ll go first." Xiang Ling scanned the men around her for a moment before her gaze finally stopped on Dao Ming. With a big smile on her lips, she asked, "Truth or dare?"
"Truth." The man answered while staring right into her eyes. There was not even an ounce of hesitation in his gaze as if he was ready to catch whatever she was going to throw at him.
Xiang Ling took a sip of her wine before she once again focused her attention on Dao Ming and asked, "How many women have you been with during your visits to Blooming House?"
She heard someone choking on their wine but she didn’t dare to remove her gaze from Dao Ming’s face. While the man tried his best to keep a straight face, it was quite easy to tell that he wasn’t expecting her to ask this question. More precisely, none of them were expecting this question.
"I was never with any woman there. I only went there because I wanted to frustrate Ch- you." Dao Ming answered finally and took a huge gulp from his cup.
Xiang Ling felt something inside her feeling relieved at the answer she got. Nodding her head slowly, she signaled him to continue the game. When the man offered her the choice between truth or dare, she almost sighed. She should have known better than to expect that these men would choose anyone else than her.
"Dare." She replied boldly, looking forward to see what kind of task the man would give her.
Zhe Yuan whistled and gave Xiang Ling a little wink. Everyone was anticipating to know what dare Dao Ming would give her.
A moment later, the man finally spoke, "I want you to remove your cloak and outer robe."